FOREST HILLS, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 03/07/12 -- After days of trying to find the thief who stole more than a dozen religious artifacts from a local synagogue in Kew Gardens, NY, Janet Medina, an employee at The Gold Standard of Forest Hills, was able to help return the stolen items. After recognizing the reported stolen property on TV, Medina and storeowner Scott Simon immediately contacted local police.
When News Channel NY1 reported on more than a dozen stolen valuables from Congregation Degel, Janet Medina was more than shocked when she recognized some of the stolen goods. Medina realized she had seen the stolen items earlier while sorting through inventory at The Gold Standard of Forest Hills. She immediately contacted Scott Simon, the operations director at The Gold Standard of Forest Hills.
Simon instantly matched up one of the stolen pieces, a silver Torah crown, among others. He called the police and was able to help them track down the alleged thief, Efram Sanders, by going through store records. As protocol for all NY gold buyers and pawning procedures, Simon recalled asking Sanders if the items belonged to him. Sanders response to the question was "that he had inherited the items -- that he got the items during his Bar Mitzvah." Police were able to track down Sanders and arrested him the following day. He is now charged with burglary, grand larceny and criminal possession of more than a dozen stolen items. He was called to court on the 29th with a bail of $20,000.00 and is due back in court on the 14th of March.
Members of Congregation Degel were thrilled to have the items safely returned, as most did not expect to see them again. Unfortunately, The Gold Standard of Forest Hills does not expect to get back the thousands of dollars they originally paid for the items.
The Gold Standard of Forest Hills has and continues to be a trusted and reputable pawnshop throughout Queens and Long Island. Scott Simon told reporters that they will "try to take the appropriate measures to recoup some of the money, but the likelihood is that we'll take the loss on this one." Despite losing thousands of dollars, both Medina and Simon are more than happy for doing the right thing and helping out the community.
About The Gold Standard
The Gold Standard, a family owned store, has been in the jewelry industry for over 75 years. With 13 locations throughout Queens and Long Island, The Gold Standard has been successfully growing and expanding. They continue to prosper by providing all of their customers with friendly customer service, secure transactions and fair prices. Time and time again, both new and returning customers in New York decided to sell or pawn their jewelry and other valuables at The Gold Standard. For more information, contact The Gold Standard of Forest Hills at (646) 470-4907), by email at foresthills@nygoldcashers.com, or visit 70-58 Austin Street, Forest Hills, NY 11375.
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